A French newspaper is quoting actor Gerard Depardieu as saying he is turning in his passport after insults from France's Socialist prime minister for taking up residence in tax-friendly Belgium.

The Sunday weekly Le Journal du Dimanche published an open letter attributed to Depardieu in which the actor chides Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault for calling him ''pathetic'' and ''unpatriotic'' last week for moving to Belgium to escape French taxes.